The long-term impact of executive functions on everyday creativity among Chinese adolescents: A longitudinal mediation model of emotional resilience and creative self-efficacy

Recent studies have underscored the vital role of executive functions (EFs) in creativity. However, most research has concentrated on creative thinking while overlooking the relationship between EFs and everyday creativity and the mechanism underlying this relationship in the development of adolescents. In this study, we recruited 1269 adolescents (560 girls, 44.1 %) and utilized a longitudinal follow-up approach, conducting questionnaire surveys at three time points. The longitudinal mediation model of emotional resilience (ER) at Time 2 (T2) and creative self-efficacy (CSE) at Time 3 (T3) as links between EFs at Time 1 (T1) and everyday creativity at T3 was analyzed to verify all possible paths in this study. The results revealed that EFs (T1) positively predicted adolescents’ everyday creativity in science, art, and literature two years later (T3). Furthermore, EFs (T1) predicted adolescents' everyday creativity in science, art, and literature (T3) via a sequential mediation model of ER (T2) and CSE (T3), as well as a mediation model of CSE (T3). In summary, these findings reveal the relationships and internal mediating mechanisms between EFs and everyday creativity. This study has considerable implications for families and schools to advance the development of adolescents’ everyday creativity by training their EFs and strengthening their ER and CSE.